Every Patient Tells a Story

Description

A riveting exploration of the most difficult and important part of what doctors do, by Yale School of Medicine physician Dr. Lisa Sanders. Sanders is the author of the monthly
New York Times Magazinecolumn "Diagnosis" - the inspiration for the hit Fox TV series
House.

"The experience of being ill can be like waking up in a foreign country. Life, as you formerly knew it, is on hold while you travel through this other world as unknown as it is unexpected. When I see patients in the hospital or in my office who are suddenly, surprisingly ill, what they really want to know is, 'What is wrong with me?' They want a road map that will help them manage their new surroundings. The ability to give this unnerving and unfamiliar place a name, to know it, on some level, restores a measure of control, independent of whether or not that diagnosis comes attached to a cure. Because, even today, a diagnosis is frequently all a good doctor has to offer."

A healthy young man suddenly loses his memory, making him unable to remember the events of each passing hour. Two patients diagnosed with Lyme disease improve after antibiotic treatment, only to have their symptoms mysteriously return. A young woman lies dying in the ICU - bleeding, jaundiced, incoherent - and none of her doctors know what is killing her.

In Every Patient Tells a Story, Dr. Lisa Sanders takes us bedside to witness the process of solving these and other diagnostic dilemmas, providing a firsthand account of the expertise and intuition that lead a doctor to make the right diagnosis.

Critiques

"Readers who enjoy dramatic stories of doctors fighting disease will get their fill, and they will also encounter thoughtful essays on how doctors think and go about their work, and how they might do it better." (
Publishers Weekly)
"Besides her own inborn capacity for problem-solving, Sanders' experience as internist, writer, and consultant to
House serves her well here, for absorbing anecdotes generously pepper the exposition." (
Booklist)

Make sure this is what you think!

If you are looking for a book that is about mysterious diagnoses, be aware, there are only a few examples in this book. The book is about the various methods doctors employ to diagnose. It's really written for doctors, but the author uses lay language, as if the lay person could take the information and somehow apply it to their lives. I found it interesting, but not valuable. The author should have allowed someone else to orate her book. Her raspy voice is hard to listen to some times.

11 sur 11 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

3 out of 5 stars

Elizabeth

21/03/2011

Really good if you can get past the narrator.

I love Dr. Lisa Sanders' "Diagnosis" column in the NYT Magazine. This is more of the same. But the narrator, and I hate to hurt her feelings, is just so flat that it detracts from the book.

16 sur 17 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

2 out of 5 stars

Histoire

5 out of 5 stars

Brittney Taylor

26/03/2017

Raspy voice

Any additional comments?

The stories are interesting, but this author really should have had someone else read the book. Her voice is not pleasant to listen to for this many hours. I find finishing this book a struggle and I love this genre.

6 sur 6 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Histoire

4 out of 5 stars

Cassandra

04/03/2013

Interesting perspectives on the difficult patient

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Definitely, as a nurse I am always interested at examining the patient experience from differing perspectives.

What did you like best about this story?

That it was based on actual case studies.

What aspect of Lisa Sanders’s performance would you have changed?

I enjoyed her narration.

Could you see Every Patient Tells a Story being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes it could be done similarly to the autopsy series by Jan Garavalas.

5 sur 5 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Histoire

4 out of 5 stars

Dr. Liz

16/12/2017

Annoying narration detracted from worthwhile book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Every Patient Tells a Story?

Patient anecdotes are the most interesting part.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The whiny voice, inexpert emphases whille reading, and lame attempts at rendering voices of patients were very annoying. The author should have had someone else narrate.

Could you see Every Patient Tells a Story being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I guess it already has been, since the author consulted on "House."

Any additional comments?

There is a lot of interesting content here. As a retired doctor I like this genre, although I think Jerome Groopman's "How Doctors Think" was better. More of interest to medical professionals than to lay readers.

3 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Histoire

5 out of 5 stars

Anna N

12/09/2017

From a student

fantastic book. Learned many new things about the art and science of medicine. important reading for all students of health professions.

2 sur 2 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

1 out of 5 stars

Alan

24/10/2010

Painful Voice

This would have been an excellent book, but her voice was awful to listen to. I reget that I did not have the patience to listen to the awful sound of narration.

8 sur 11 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Histoire

5 out of 5 stars

Dayna Vango

25/05/2017

great book for providers

I learned a lot listening to this book. Being a provider is like being a detective! Thanks!

1 sur 1 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Histoire

5 out of 5 stars

D. Vance

22/04/2017

I am an internist and I really enjoyed this book

I'm at internal medicine physician, the "Sherlock Holmes specialty" and I really enjoyed this book, it is written at a level that is just right for professionals and patients to understand and enjoy. Dr. Sanders is passionate about making the right diagnosis and points out many of the shortcomings of modern medicine. I found this to be inspirational in my continuing efforts to practice high-quality medicine. I think patients will learn a lot about how their doctors think and have a better understanding of our healthcare system. Thanks to Dr. Sanders for producing this very thought-provoking book.

1 sur 1 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Global

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Histoire

4 out of 5 stars

Carolyn F. Auge

21/09/2011

Overall Good but a bit repetitive

This audio book was overall very good but the theme became a bit repetitive after a while - Physical Exam, Physical Exam, Physical Exam!. OK, I get it, have your doc perform a physical exam. I will have to say though, that it is a bit disturbing that many doctors do not perform this exam in contrast to your veterinarian who ALWAYS does this. The best part of the book were the stories of diagnostic mysteries of various patients. The reader was the author, which is always a bit scary for me to read as they typically are not professionals; however, she did a really good job.